I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 595: The One Covered in Silk

You can't have your cake and eat it too.

In Liu Bian's case, if he wanted the bureaucrats to do more work and improve the efficiency of the bureaucratic system, he would inevitably give career rewards to those officials who dared to do things and were efficient as a guide.

As a result, there were more and more utilitarian officials whose instinct was to satisfy the demands of the court and their superiors.

This will certainly further enhance the capacity of the bureaucratic system.

Even if Liu Bian was willing to be a dictator, the existence of such a bureaucratic system would still be a worry-free thing, because the utilitarian officials would only obey the emperor's wishes.

But for the people who are controlled by officials, too much is as bad as too little. Liu Bian was not willing to deny the positive role of utilitarianism. If officials did not want to make progress, the number of inactive and lazy officials would inevitably increase, which was also unacceptable.

Thinking about the dialectical issues involved, Liu Bian did not personally deal with the issues raised by Zhao Yi, but handed them over to Fan Ling.

From a public perspective, Fan Ling was an airborne official, and the reason for the problem this time was not corruption, but the official atmosphere. It is hard to say that this was Fan Ling's fault.

Personally, Fan Ling was the planner of the new canal. Liu Bian knew about his hard work in building canals in Jianghuai and other places in recent years. He also knew that Fan Ling was looking forward to the day when the new canal would be open to navigation, so Liu Bian was willing to give him this opportunity.

As for Liu Bian himself, he took Zhao Yi with him to meet the people who were brought by Zhao Yi to work.

Zhao Yi felt numb all over.

The emperor did not allow him to reveal his identity to the villagers, who only treated him as an ordinary son of a powerful noble.

Then, Zhao Yi saw his neighbor patting his chest and praising the emperor - "I originally thought you were just like those dandies, who only knew how to say nice things but actually knew nothing. I didn't expect you to know quite a lot."

He couldn't help but lower his head, hoping to dig a hole in the sole of his foot so that he could crawl into it, so that he wouldn't have to face

Liu Bian didn't notice Zhao Yi's expression. He was explaining something to others: "This white sedge, also known as cotton, is similar to hemp in that it is not very picky about the soil. But unlike hemp, white sedge is best planted in spring and summer. I remember that the imperial court began to promote the planting of white sedge a few years ago, and even gave away seeds for free. Why don't you plant it?"

Liu Bian was speaking with great interest when he heard the people beside him say, "Sir, in fact, except for the land for growing grain, we have planted all the land that can grow white flounder."

Liu Bian was stunned and asked, "The weather is getting colder, why don't you wear cotton-padded clothes stuffed with white quilts?"

As soon as he said this, Liu Bian realized that he had asked a nonsense question.

"You are joking, sir. White quilts are very valuable now. Clothes stuffed with white quilts are too precious. We can't afford them." One of them laughed heartily, grabbing the corner of his linen clothes and said, "Life is better now. In the past, I would have worn the clothes I have all year round. But now it's different. I have two of these clothes stuffed with linen! I can wear them in rotation."

Whoever is covered in Luo Qi is not a silkworm breeder.

Liu Bian suddenly thought of this line of poetry.

However, when he looked at the people in front of him, they all burst into laughter after hearing what he had just said, laughing at the boastful tone of the man. But this laughter was not mocking, but a kind laugh. Their faces showed smiles from the heart, because their lives were really much better than before.

These are the most simple people in this land, and they are actually very easy to satisfy.

Zhao Yi, who was next to Liu Bian, heard the voice and continued to lower his head, looking at his shoes.

"What do you think about the wages for this work?" Liu Bian asked tentatively. Due to cost constraints, the final wages were almost cut in half. He wanted to know the opinions of those who would receive the wages.

At this time, someone suddenly asked cautiously: "The gentleman asked about wages. Is it because the senior officials above think that the wages are too high and want to pay less?"

As soon as these words were spoken, almost all the people present became nervous.

Liu Bian didn't expect to get such an answer. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, the wages will not be reduced. If the wages you receive in the future are reduced, just ask for it..."

Liu Bian paused and looked at Zhao Yi - "Just find him!"

Zhao Yi looked up suddenly and saw that the emperor was looking at him, and nodded repeatedly.

But the people did not buy it, saying: "We can trust the head of the pavilion. If someone is paid less, it must be someone else's deduction."

Hearing such praise, Zhao Yi couldn't help but blushing and felt a little excited in his heart. He felt that his hard work over the past few years was worth it.

Liu Bian continued to ask: "If the wages remain the same in the future, would you be willing to continue working?"

"Yes, of course we must do it!"

"It's the off-season now, and there's nothing to do at home. If I don't come to earn money, will I stay at home and have a baby?"

"Yeah, there's no time when the baby can't be born... By the way, third brother, you were hesitant and unwilling to come before, do you want to stay at home and give birth to the baby?"

For a moment, cheerful laughter broke out among the crowd again.

Zhao Yi raised his head but soon lowered it again.

After hearing this, Liu Bian understood that the people were still satisfied with the wages.

Otherwise their spirits wouldn't be so high.

After chatting with Zhao Yi's fellow villagers for a long time, Liu Bian took Zhao Yi to a place where the elderly and the weak lived not far away.

As soon as he arrived here, Liu Bian discovered that the customs here were different from those in Zhao Yi's place.

The person in charge of managing these elderly and weak people was also a pavilion chief. Not long ago, this pavilion chief and the minor official in charge of supervising this area were called away.

The remaining guards faced Liu Bian who was surrounded by people. Although they did not know Liu Bian's identity, they were instinctively afraid of him.

Liu Bian's focus was not on them, but on the elderly men. Some of Zhao Yi's fellow villagers also came to watch, and at Liu Bian's signal, the guards led by Zhang Liao ignored them.

Liu Bian invited the old man to sit down, his tone as gentle as ever. Liu Bian was no stranger to this kind of communication, and he first asked about the old man's family, livelihood, past experiences, etc.

Soon, the old people started talking.

The family conditions of these elderly people are generally poor, and some of them don’t even have children.

One of them even said: "I know that the pavilion master brought us here to take risks. In fact, the pavilion master didn't want to bring us here, but we are getting older and older. We should save some money for our coffins while we can still do some work."

"I just regret that we are old and can't do any work after working for half a day, which makes the young people a burden... I can't blame them for blaming us, because we are a burden!"

After hearing this, Liu Bian was silent for a moment.

He originally thought that the local headman forced people to come for political achievements, but he didn't expect the reality to be the opposite.

"Those young ones were brought along only because the village head was kindhearted and could not resist the pleas of their families. Otherwise, they would have nothing to do in the village."

Liu Bian looked at the people around him, each with a different expression.

The elders generally felt the same way, but the men in their prime were different. Most of them showed impatience, either overtly or covertly, because they really had to take on extra work.

Why should they pay the price for the kindness of the pavilion chief?
Some people also showed sympathy.

In Liu Bian's opinion, although the behavior of the headman here is reasonable in terms of reason, it is not legal. Moreover, do those who suffer the loss deserve it?
At this time, a fellow villager of Zhao Yi suddenly spoke up and said, "If you really feel that you are owed something, why don't you discuss in advance and share the wages with those who have done more work? I think if I were in this situation, if I could be given more wages, I would be willing to accept it."

An old man explained: "In the beginning, we actually considered that we should take less wages, but later we heard that the court was very strict in investigating the issue of wages. If it was found out, not only us but also the head of the pavilion would be in trouble, so we never mentioned it again."

So in the end it was the fault of the court's strict laws?
Another voice said, "Does that mean I deserve to work harder? Some of them are related to you and don't want to argue with you, but I don't!"

From this content, you can tell that the person speaking is the victim.

Liu Bian also confirmed that this pavilion chief may be an official who can understand the sufferings of the people, but he is obviously incapable of doing things. Moreover, he only does half of his work and lacks the courage to take responsibility.

This is normal. It is impossible to expect every pavilion chief to speak up for justice like Zhao Yi.

This also reminded Liu Bian of another point. Since the time of the previous emperor, the country has been in chaos, with many natural disasters and man-made calamities occurring in various places, and there are countless widows, widowers, and orphans in the world.

Liu Bian ignored the existence of these people before, but now that he knows about it, how can he just sit back and watch these old and helpless people fend for themselves?
On that day, Liu Bian did not issue any imperial edict, but asked Fan Ling who came to report to him about the matter.

Then he learned that the dynasty had always had a policy of respecting and caring for the elderly inherited from the Liu Bang period, which included giving certain privileges to people of a certain age, and rewarding them with grain and even meat and cloth based on their age.

However, because the country's finances were stretched for quite a long time, those previous systems and policies that involved money and grain had long since become defunct in name only.

Because these policies disappeared for so long, almost everyone has become accustomed to them. Moreover, since Liu Bian ascended the throne, the national treasury has been insufficient on a daily basis, and when it finally became more relaxed, Liu Bian prepared a series of major actions, so that no one has raised this issue until now.

However, Fan Ling also had other reasons for all this - the standard of old-age care established during the reign of Emperor Zhang was to grant a few sticks (a cane, representing legal and political privileges) at the age of seventy, rice at the age of eighty, silk at the age of ninety, and exemption of one descendant from taxation or labor service.

However, since the reign of Emperor He, natural disasters have continued, as well as man-made disasters. It is rare for a person to live to be seventy years old. Against the backdrop of natural and man-made disasters, there are few elderly people who can live to be eighty or ninety and enjoy the state's financial subsidies, and they are generally from good families.

As for those from poor families, although it sounds a bit harsh, most of them will not live to see the day when they receive the subsidized food.

Fan Ling finally said: "Your Majesty, rest assured. From what I have seen, the custom of respecting the elderly among the people remains the same, and ordinary people still get a few sticks when they are seventy..."

Liu Bian complained in his heart, he probably only had a cane!
What kind of joke is this?
"In recent years, the Han dynasty has been revived. Thanks to Your Majesty, the number of elderly people among the people has increased significantly compared to previous years, so the situation is different from previous years."

Although Liu Bian understood that Fan Ling was praising him, it still sounded a bit too harsh to Liu Bian.

However, Liu Bian also understood that any change to the original age limit of 80 or 90 years old would mean a large expenditure of money and grain. But he had already made a decision. When he returned to the court, he would at least continue to implement the original pension policy, not to mention lowering the age limit for subsidies!

After saying this, Fan Ling said again: "I inspected the officials today and asked the people frequently. What I saw was exactly the same as what Zhao Yi said."

"The current trend among officials is that when they see something meritorious, they flock to it like wild dogs seeing meat. But when it comes to things that require responsibility, they avoid it like snakes and scorpions. There are countless acts of fawning on their superiors..." Fan Ling was also very resentful. He regarded the canal as the last major event in his life. Of course, he hoped that the officials under his command would not be able to control him at will, but at least cause him less trouble!

After finishing his speech, Fan Ling said: "Your Majesty, I think it will take time to change this trend. It requires not only senior officials to set an example, but also people of virtue to supervise them frequently."

"In my opinion, Zhao Yi, who spoke out for justice today, has sufficient virtue. It's a pity that I don't know much about his ability and don't know if he can do the job..."

Before this, when Fan Ling saw that the emperor only gave gold to Zhao Yi but did not announce any other arrangements for Zhao Yi, he already had an idea in his mind.

The emperor's gift of gold represented a great honor, which meant that Zhao Yi could leave his name in a corner of the history books... This was something that countless people wished for. Not to mention that the gift of gold also meant that the emperor remembered Zhao Yi.

Fan Ling boasted that he knew the emperor quite well and could roughly guess what the emperor was thinking - Zhao Yi's outspokenness today would definitely make him the target of public criticism. No one dared to deal with Zhao Yi openly, but it is easier to dodge an open spear than to guard against an arrow from the dark, so the emperor would keep Zhao Yi by his side and arrange his future according to his talents.

The reason why Fan Ling took the initiative to recommend Zhao Yi was to show his attitude to the emperor - I firmly support Zhao Yi's just act!
"From what I have seen today, I find that he is acting in a relatively safe manner. However, he still lacks some experience in doing supervisory work." Liu Bian thought about it and felt that Fan Ling's suggestion was also very good. At that time, he could also let the School Affairs Department establish contact with Zhao Yi.

He continued, "Since you mentioned it, let's give Zhao Yi a chance to gain experience."

Fan Ling immediately understood the emperor's intention to protect Zhao Yi, and he said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I know all the official affairs, and I will teach him well."

After seeing Fan Ling off, Liu Bian lived in a temporary house, thinking about his experience that day.

Sure enough, I still have to go out more often.

Moreover, Liu Bian also discovered that Luoyang, as the imperial capital, was quite different from other places in the Han Dynasty in many aspects, and it was easy to be blinded by only talking to the people of Luoyang.

(End of this chapter)